Liverpool pay £7.5m for every point while Everton pay £48k

zocoss SG

Still top dog: Beckham is the wealthiest player in British football

Manchester City dominate the financial stakes in the Premier League but it is players from rivals Manchester United that come out top dogs in a British football rich list.

Four of the top five earners hail from Old Trafford including Michael Owen, Rio Ferdinand, Ryan Giggs and Wayne Rooney, with ex-United player David Beckham topping the players' list.

The LA Galaxy midfielder maintains his position as the wealthiest footballer at £135million – an increase of £35m from the previous year.

At 36-years-old the former England captain is near the end of his career, and with a basic salary of £4million sees the rest of his income come through sponsorship deals with companies including adidas, EA, Yahoo and Coty that will likely continue after he hangs up his boots.

That far behind: Ferdinand gestures to United team mate Owen

Owen is second on the list, making him the top dog inside the Premier League despite featuring a long way down the pecking order at Old Trafford.

The former England international trails Beckham by a long way on £40m, but sponsorship deals with Umbro, Jaguar, Tissot and his own company Owen Promotions add to his pay-as-you-play deal to help him maintain second from last year.

Going up: Giggs and Rooney move up one place in the list from last year

Wants out: Tevez (centre) is poised to leave Manchester City but is one of British football's big earners

Ferdinand (£36m) ensures the top three stay the same as the previous year with Giggs (£30m) and Rooney (£30m) both moving up a place to round out the top five in FourFourTwo's list.

Four Chelsea players feature in the top 10 with Frank Lampard (£26m), John Terry (£22m), Didier Drogba (£19m) and Fernando Torres (£18m) behind Liverpool's Steven Gerrard on £27million.

The 20 wealthiest footballers features only two players from Manchester City, with wantaway striker Carlos Tevez and Yaya Toure new entrants in 14th place with £14m.

However the club's owner Sheikh Mansour tops the magazine's overall list, reporting he is worth £20billion.

Money Mansour: Manchester City's owner tops the magazine's list

Mansour, a member of Abu Dhabi's ruling Al-Nahyan family, has invested heavily into the club since 2008 transforming City from a mid-table side to a Champions League outfit.

Arsenal shareholder Alisher Usmanov follows with a £12.4bn fortune, demoting QPR shareholder Lakshmi Mittal to third with the Indian steel magnate worth £11.8bn – despite both not having complete control of their clubs.

Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich's fortunes increased £2.9bn in the last year seeing him take fourth with £10.3bn, as he continues to bankroll the west London club in search of a Champions League title.

Manchester United's controversial owner Malcolm Glazer saw an increase of £110m to maintain ninth, while Liverpool's owner John W Henry is the highest new entry on the list in 20th having purchased the Merseyside club a year ago.

2. Michael Owen (£40m)
(Manchester United)

3. Rio Ferdinand (£36m)
(Manchester United)

4. Ryan Giggs (£30m)
(Manchester United)

5. Wayne Rooney (£30m)
(Manchester United)

6. Steven Gerrard (£27m)
(Liverpool)

7. Frank Lampard (£26m)
(Chelsea)

8. John Terry (£22m)
(Chelsea)

9. Didier Drogba (£19m)
(Chelsea)

10. Fernando Torres (£18m)
(Chelsea)

11. Petr Cech (£16m)
(Chelsea)

= Nicolas Anelka (£16m)
(Chelsea)

= Joe Cole (£16m)
(Lille)

14. Yaya Toure (£14m)
(Manchester City)

= Michael Essien (£14m)
(Chelsea)

= Carlos Tevez (£14m)
(Manchester City)

= Ashley Cole (£14m)
(Chelsea)

18. Robbie Keane (£13m)
(LA Galaxy)

= Damien Duff (£13m)
(Fulham)

20. Craig Bellamy (£12m)
(Liverpool)

zocoss SG

It's just that some points, like diamonds, are more expensive than others.

And if you own Liverpool, right now a Premier League point will have cost you 156 times MORE than a point gained just across Stanley Park.

A unique chart has attempted to show just what return club owners get for their multi-million pound investment and, as Liverpool are the latest club to change hands, points were always going to be expensive.

Since John W Henry's Fenway Sports splashed out £300million to take control last October — plus the £144m spent on transfers and wages — Liverpool's cost for every one of the 59 points gained works out at £7,525,423.73 EACH.

In contrast, Liverpool's Merseyside rivals Everton — where Bill Kenwright paid £20m in 2004 to become the majority shareholder — have got points on the 'cheap'.

The 415 points earned while Kenwright has been at the helm come in at £48,192.77 each. Arsenal have spent more per point than Manchester United — but cannot hold a candle to what has been won at Old Trafford.

American billionaire Stan Kroenke is regarded as the biggest shareholder at the Emirates where spending is in the region of £730m since he took over in 2007.

That includes Kroenke's equity stake plus money laid out on transfers and wages.

For the 298 points gained, the Gunners have splashed out in the region of £2,453,020 per point while United's 523 points accumulated since the Glazers became the biggest shareholders in May 2005 have come at a cost of around £1,510,516 each.

The richest man in football is Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour with a fortune of £20BILLION while David Beckham is rated the richest player with £135m and Fabio Capello the richest boss with £38m.

Hugh Sleight, editor of FourFourTwo who produced the Football Rich List, said: "The science isn't likely to win us a Nobel Prize. But as a snapshot on the differing positions of the men who own the Premier League clubs, it's compelling."

dragg SG

the data doesnt reflect the true picture right?

the longer you have bought it the more points you score right? hence the amount will be lower.

see everton. since 1999. chances of scoring more points is higher